Shoko Hayashizaki & Michael Hagemann: BLAHETKA

Leopoldine Blahetka was an Austrian composer of the 19th century. One of her most renowned works is the "Grand Duo" for piano four hands. The piece stands out for its passionate and virtuosic music, demanding both technical skills and musical sensitivity. The "Grand Duo" is an impressive example of Blahetka's compositional talent and her contribution to 19th-century piano music.

Love songs and transgressions for piano four hands have been part of the repertoire of the Japanese-German duo for 40 years. During their studies at the University of Music Freiburg im Breisgau in the piano class of Robert-Alexander Bohnke, he composed two of his "transgressions" for the duo. These can be heard on their 1986 debut LP titled "Dances and Miniatures." Bohnke also recommended the piano duo for a concert tour with the Camerata Vocalis of the University of Tübingen, which took them to Monfalcone, Italy in 1984 under the direction of Alexander Šumski. They performed the Love Songs Waltzes by Johannes Brahms.

Looking back, the duo fondly recalls performance venues that exude a special aura, such as the Richard Wagner Museum in Tribschen, the Franz Liszt Music Academy in Budapest, or the Austrian National Library in Vienna. Concerts at the Nordic House in Reykjavik, designed by Finnish architect Avar Aalto, and the historic Manpuku-ji Temple in Kamakura are also unforgettable. Successful program creations were connected to research and studies that led the duo to places associated with individuals and works. For the program "I AM THE WORLD" (Alexander Skrjabin), they made a pilgrimage to the "Villa les Lilas" on Lake Geneva. For the production "A Ray of Light Has Touched Me," awarded the Pasticcio Prize by ORF (Alma Mahler-Werfel and her blind composition teacher Josef Labor), the duo visited Gmunden and Vienna multiple times. To learn more about Leopoldine Blahetka, they traced her footsteps in Guntramsdorf near Vienna and Boulogne-sur-Mer on the Côte d'Opale.